Heart of Darkness
by coolkid32
Summary: In the aftermath of the Xehanort Saga, the appearance of a broken hero and a ruthless warrior draws the Keyblade Masters back into action. Lead to the foreign world known as Earth, they face the limits of their knowledge and bear witness to just how far one will go to protect those that they love.
1. Prologue

All hearts have to go somewhere. Don't they?

When the body dies, and the mind is scattered, what happens to the heart? All that passion, the raw emotion in a person's life, does it simply vanish into the ether? Does it linger in the air until it get drawn into the body of a new-born child, ready to start anew? Or does it return from whence it came, giving back to the cosmos at large?

Right now, at the end of the world, Paladin wished he could find out. Just to know that he could stomp out whatever served as the heart and soul of the scum once known as Bob Page.

Page... the coward.

He could see the bastard's black helicopter riding away from the complex, as he looked up from the windshield of his red Firebird. He wanted so badly for this all to end, for that chopper to combust here and now. Sending Page's pathetic corpse plummeting to the earth in flames.

Would serve that son of a bitch right.

Adam, in the passenger seat, was leaning out the window as he readied a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. He was eying the helicopter with squinted eyes, his retractable lenses pulled back to reveal the gold shine of his artificial irises. Adam's face was focused, a mixture of stoicism and thoughtfulness that gave the impression he was a consummate professional.

_Hence why we're friends_, Paladin reminded himself. He took care to keep his foot firmly on the accelerator, speeding along the highway with reckless abandon. A distant rumble and that blue wave of energy he'd spotted in the rear view mirror had done little to convince him to do otherwise.

"Almost have him," Adam finally spoke, his voice ever-so-slightly gravelly. "Can you keep this pace for a couple more seconds?"

"Just so long as we send him to hell," Paladin responded. He felt his heart rate accelerate with the car, his mind racing with the thought. Finally, Bob Page would pay. Finally Page would die.

The chopper continued on its trajectory, hanging well above the car. It had no visible armaments, which struck Paladin as bizarre. Yes, it was a short notice escape on account of Helios' heel-face turn... but why would Majestic 12 invest in something so _defenseless_?

_It's not worth it. Just get this done. _

"Alright. Got him in my sights. Get ready for the first shot." Adam had the launcher raised alongside the right side of the car, his finger set on the trigger.

Paladin clutched the wheel. It was now or never.

A loud whoosh accompanied by a puff of smoke emerged from the launcher as a small canister shot at the helicopter. Then a bright orange flash, followed by the chopper beginning to weave above them. Its tail was billowing a cloud of black smoke.

"Hit it again, Adam. We can't give him time to use the device."

"I know, Paladin, just a second." Adam pulled back the launcher's barrel and aimed again.

For a split second, he swore a spark of blue came into his overhead vision. He was preoccupied with keeping the car on track and maintaining optimal speed, but... no, it had to be now.

"Adam..." he warned.

"Firing." With another puff of smoke, the second grenade flew from above and slammed into the helicopter's rotors. This time the explosion stunned him for a moment, shaking him and filling his vision with orange light. The helicopter was spinning out of control, flames emerging from every space.

And it was plummeting straight for them.

"Fuck!" Paladin pulled the wheel to the right in order to swerve, but it was too late. The cockpit smashed into his side, and for a moment his vision was red. Then... windows smashing, the sensation of rolling, a muted sense of pain and agony from all sides.

Then silence.

* * *

His eyes blinked in pain, making his teeth grit from the sensation. Although all was blurry, he could make out the leather dashboard of his Firebird. He reached out with what strength he could muster, but his arm went limp and fell to the... ceiling?

His vision focused. Paladin tried to glance around, spotting Adam's head hanging upwards with a bloody gash along its side. And the road appeared upside-down, from what he could glean. That, or the car had flipped.

Suddenly he heard the door pulled open and cold metallic hands ripped him from the vehicle. He braced with his hands as he hit the ground hard, splattering blood from his palms onto the road. He grimaced and attempted to push himself up, but a heavy boot slammed into his rips with a _crack_ before he could get far.

"AHHHH!" Paladin collapsed back onto the road. This wasn't how things were meant to go.

"Feeling...feeling good right now, Johnny boy?" a cracking, sterile, familiar voice spoke. He heard the crunch of loose gravel as someone stepped, or rather limped, within his sight. With what strength he could muster, Paladin lifted his weight onto his unbroken ribs and stared into the cold mechanized eyes of Bob Page.

"Heh, heh," Paladin spat back. "Never felt better, you mechanized fuck."

"Oh, do I sense a bit of cyborg envy in you, dear Paladin?" Page responded, standing with the confidence of a less injured corporate conspirator. "Perhaps you want what we have attained through sheer will and ingenuity after all. I mean, all those heroics, all that slaughter..."

"I don't give a shit about your augs and I don't give a shit about power. I'll take you to hell myself if I have to..." Paladin stopped to cough. Blood rushed out his mouth and splattered on the scarred pavement.

Page chuckled, the nerve of him. "I see there's nothing to change your mind. Very well, there's really only enough room for myself in the City on the Hill." He glanced around slightly, as though confused by an intangible matter.

Paladin spoke through a coughing fit, "Lost your... your nerve, tin can?"

The red stains across Page's torso only just outmatched the flush of his face. Silently, he continued glancing about until his eyes caught on something in the distance, just beyond the flaming wreck that was once his helicopter. He turned away for the briefest of moments, 42 milliseconds to be exact.

Paladin could feel his lungs beginning to clear, his ribs resetting, his hands scabbing over. Time for action.

With a leap that could scare off even the most seasoned athletes, Paladin pushed himself off the road and charged at Page with all his might. His mind cleared save for two thoughts: the swords resting somewhere near the wreck of his precious car, and the prospect of gutting Page like a fucking fish. Paladin could feel his muscles tighten and loosen in unison, as the air around him slowed to a crawl while he zeroed in on Page's chest.

He brought his right fist around in a curve, slamming it into Page's face. He distinctly heard a crunch and a tiny shriek on impact, which might have impressed him on a better day. Twin glints of silver grew in size in his peripheral vision, seeming to rotate like spinning wheels. But these wheels would be less the driving variety, and more the "slice and dice" sort.

He didn't have long. Paladin shifted his leg into a side-kicking position, sweeping it underneath Page's legs. Still moving slower than him, Page could only give a look that was most appropriate of someone having swallowed a sour item while being kicked in the shin – sheer, painful shock.

Paladin opened his hands, and launched off his right leg into the air. After all, if you _have _superhuman powers and can milk them for style, why the hell _wouldn't _you?

Time returned to normal as the situation played out: Page fell to the pavement screaming in agony, as Paladin flipped mid-air to catch the twin blades and landed behind his wounded foe. He rose up again and held one of the blades against Page's neck.

Page took a moment from his agonized shrieking to register the shiny metal blade. "Ah – I'd forgotten your preference of the katana. And, apparently, your... omnipotent qualities."

"Ah, well, I don't blame you. Heroes get the best tools for the job, didn't you know?" Paladin would have preferred a proper one-liner to end this damned crusade, but this would have to suffice.

"Unfortunately," Page spoke in a pained rasp, "I'd have to disagree."

Before he could look up, he heard the blast. A shotgun round, likely from an assault-type firearm. Shot from about 6 meters, straight for him. In a hurried motion, he began to circulate his blades in unison.

As expected, the blast hit his blades and burst into numerous tiny shards, ricocheting across the crash site. A moment later, he regained a grip on the blades and took stock of his adversary. A tall man, taller than himself, his foe was a pale skinned brute with thick mechanical arms and legs. His hair was long and grey, with the texture of dried straw. He wore a black face mask linked via tubes to a chest-mounted compartment. And with the one hand not holding a full-sized shotgun, limply hanging, with blood splattered across his face, was Adam.

_Shit._

"Stand down, Paladin," spoke a mechanical voice from behind that face mask. "Allow Mr. Page to retrieve his property."

_More shit._

But Adam was a friend. With a deep sigh, he pulled away from Page and stepped backwards. His swords were still by his side.

"Toss away the swords," said the augmented man, "or Jensen will be terminated."

"Terminate this, fucker." With that, he threw one sword horizontally at the augmented individual. It found its mark in the aug's chest, throwing him against the flipped Firebird. Adam collapsed but slowly began to rise back up, coughing increasingly.

Paladin continued on the hunt. He charged at the aug and gripped the blade still embedded in that man's torso, further impaling it into his body. Grey fluid began to seep from the wound as the augmented man gave off a piercing metallic shriek that might have constituted a cry of pain, if he had been human. Then, satisfied with the internal damage he caused this freak of nature, Paladin gripped the aug's face with his right hand and tensed up.

A surge of electricity shot through his arm and lit up the aug like a burning star, filling the air with light and smoke. The shriek increased in pitch if not in volume, which grated on Paladin like nails on a chalkboard. So he further tensed his muscles, and the sky brightened substantially.

A hand gripped his shoulder at that moment. "John, let him go."

Paladin grimaced, but he obeyed. Releasing his grip on the augmented being, he watched as the smoldering body collapsed to the ground, before reaching to pull his blade from its chest. A wet-sounding _slurp _rang out as the blade finally pulled free, which Paladin then wiped down with his sleeve to cleanse it of the sticky grey fluid now dripping from its edge.

"Now," said Paladin, "to Page."

The two turned back around to find Page now standing upright. Gripped tightly in his bloodied hand was a shiny rounded button-shaped device, blinking with a blue light.

"Page, you've lost," Adam announced clearly, raising his pistol. "Stand down and we'll show mercy."

"Mercy? MERCY? There's nothing left in this world, let alone MERCY. This is the reboot I need, the one I _deserve. _Years of planning and manipulation, and now it comes down to this. I _will _be God of this world, by means of my own making. If not in this time, then the next."

Paladin didn't have the time or the patience to let this play out. "Page, for once in your life, shut the fuck up." Then, not waiting to see Adam's response, he fired a blast of fire energy at Page's face.

But Page was fast. He leapt to the right to avoid the blast, clenching his already tight grip on the device to an even tighter degree. Paladin saw the blue light increase to an exponential degree, saw the fire blast collide with the burning chopper, saw the damaged fuselage burst in a sea of flames.

Adam ran for Page, leaping to grab at the device. But it was too late.

As the bright blue light collided with the fiery red light and consumed the air around him, Paladin wondered once more if hearts did go somewhere after death. And if they did, whether or not they would be forgiven for the destruction they had wrecked on the world.

Then he felt a massive weight on his chest as the mixed explosion slammed into him, a floating sensation fitting with the force of the blast throwing him upwards. Once more, darkness.

* * *

_Many years, many trials, many sacrifices later..._

"Master Aqua, it is a pleasure to see you once more," Yen Sid spoke in a low but pleasant tone. She saw the quiet, downplayed smile on his face and wished she had a camera. It certainly was a rare sight.

"It's wonderful to be back in the light again. After all this time... it feels like home."

She took a moment to take stock of the master's office. Virtually nothing had changed in the time she had been gone, right down to the bare state of Yen Sid's wooden desk. The intricately carved star and moon viewports looking out at the rest of the world were in the same shape as before, the shelves carrying his small but respectable book collection in pristine shape. Not a hint of wear and tear, dust and dirt anywhere.

"Yes," Yen Sid spoke, bringing her back to reality. "The terror that Xehanort intend to wreck on the worlds will never come to pass. I was very impressed by your collected demeanor in your confrontation with him – you set a good example for the younger Masters."

"Please, I was simply doing my duty," Aqua responded. "After all he put us through, Xehanort needed to fall."

"And so he did. But do not undersell your role in events. You helped bring Terra and Ventus back from the brink, and guided young Sora on the path towards balance - a necessary attribute in a Keyblade Master."

Aqua smiled. Sora was a good kid, a source of light in the dark times she had faced. "He had the makings of a Master already. I just... gave him some advice along the way."

"Regardless, be proud of your actions," Yen Sid said. "Now, to the matter at hand..."

"Yes, Yen Sid," Aqua said. "I wanted to discuss something else. Something's been weighing on me for a while now."

Yen Sid's expression became more neutral, an eyebrow raising in intrigue. "Go on."

"Well, you recall that I encountered others in the Realm of Darkness, other exiles who wandered along the shores, right?"

"Yes," Yen Sid spoke, "I believe Masters Sora and Riku gave a similar account of that realm after their defeat of Xemnas."

"Okay," said Aqua, not familiar with the reference. "Anyway, I couldn't get into it before because of what was happening with Xehanort, but... someone came to me in that realm. He spoke of other worlds beyond our reach and he warned me that a greater evil lay beyond the horizon. He said to fear the name Thanatos and disappeared when the other Masters came for me."

"Someone _other _than Ansem?"

"Yes. This man seemed younger, and older at the same time. He was ragged, tired, and I sensed great darkness in his soul beyond what the Realm radiated."

Yen Sid narrowed his eyes. "What was his name?"

Aqua took a moment to recall her long-time companion, the man who had conjured tales of grimy cities and soulless villains. She saw the sad dark eyes, the faded facial scars, the massive beard and the torn combat jumpsuit. He had spent the longest time simply sitting on that shore, looking wistfully at the shimmering sea.

She had sensed great sorrow in him. And great power.

"Paladin. His name was Paladin."


	2. Prologue II

Yen Sid did not speak for what felt like minutes. The air practically reeked of discomfort and concern. Then, in a quiet tone, he asked, "Paladin, you said?"

Aqua simply nodded. She wasn't sure _what _was happening, but it didn't feel good.

Yen Sid stroked his lengthy grey beard. "And he spoke of Thanatos?"

"Yes," Aqua responded. "He said he would spend a thousand lifetimes regretting this person's existence."

"Indeed. Thanatos may very well pose a recurring threat, should he make his appearance."

"_He_, Master?" Aqua repeated. "I don't believe I mentioned gender. Do you know him?"

She swore Yen Sid's eyes widened ever-so-slightly when she made the observation, before they returned to their usual state of focused squinting. "I know _of _him. Paladin's presence is of greater importance at the moment, however."

There was more to it than that, she sensed it, but she knew better than to doubt an old Master. Even if he was acting out of character.

"Very well. What do you want me to do?" Aqua asked.

"Check with the other Masters," Yen Sid said, "and keep observant of any disturbances. Paladin will more than likely be involved."

Internally, Aqua was cringing at the apparent ignorance. How in the great cosmos did Yen Sid believe any old disruption to any of the worlds could be attributed to _one man_? One tired, embittered, (seemingly) weakened man?

But once more she had her duty. "Yes, Master," she said, turning to leave for her journey.

"Remember, Master Aqua," Yen Sid spoke clearly as she left, "none must be aware of this development. Remain vigilant but subtle, and bring Paladin to me when he is found."

* * *

_Worlds away..._

He didn't want to get up today. He just wanted to lie on his bed and rest all morning long.

But that damn sunlight was shining in his eyes, lighting everything with a faint glow. And the seagulls were out crying, and the waves crashed around him...

Wait, what?

Now that he thought about it, there _was _a distinctly salty smell wafting in his nose. Like french fries left out in the open, their scent pulled and pushed by the wind. Normally he wouldn't mind but it was interfering with his rest.

Against his better judgement he willed his left eyelid to open. An intensely bright glow burned his eye, and he promptly closed it back up.

The dull ache in his side stung badly, as something wet kept brushing against his body. As he shifted in slight agony, he felt the ground shift and crumble underneath his body. He dug his fingers into the ground and felt thousands of lightly packed grains slip from his hand.

_Sand, definitely sand. Not coarse like Europe, not as soft as the Caribbean. Smooth and comforting, but well packed together. Feels comfortable to the touch. Absorbs a fair amount of moisture._

_Definitely not Earth sand._

Again he strained to open his eyes, tilting his head to look down at his body. His vision shimmered and cleared up to show a wide blue skyline splattered with thin clouds, the sun beating down from above. Waves of clear water splashed across and around his wrinkled uniform, hitting his various cuts and bruises with the odd burst of pain.

He blinked to clear his eyes and glanced around. It was an island hideout of some sort, with basic wood structures like a hut and a few walkways present. A small reflecting pool formed around a waterfall lay several yards to his right. A bit to the top right sat a small pier with three docked canoes.

So inhabited to some degree. That was good – inhabited AND colonized meant some basic intelligence.

He gave the mental signal to his legs, seeking to lift up and explore while the sun was out. His legs voiced their considerable refusal by way of incredible ache.

Alright, pain it is. Pain is conquerable. Pain is a malleable barrier to success.

He felt the fire burning inside, flickering from the blackout but still alive. He let it warm his wet body, let its energy flow from his heart, through his veins, into his arms and legs. The surge came fast and came with focus, as his muscles tightened in preparation for the coming movement.

Willing himself into a side-facing position, he began to push off his elbows and thighs. He closed his eyes and, in one swift move, flipped into a push-up position and pushed off the sand, rolling on his heels into an upright stance. His muscles surged once more as he stood, then loosened into a relaxed state.

Superhuman muscle control at its finest. Excellent.

He took a confident step forward, and promptly collapsed to one knee. His teeth cringed, as he released an unintelligble yelp fuelled by pain and rage. "ARRGGGHHHH!"

Damn you, superhuman muscle control.

He was in such blind pain that he failed to notice the stomp of tinier feet than his own approaching until they stopped right by his line of vision.

"Are you okay?" spoke a male voice, nice sounding with only the lightest hint of naivete. He glanced up to see a young man dressed in baggy black shorts and a black sweater, with the most overtly spiked brown hair he'd seen. And wearing sleeveless gloves, the nerve – did this kid know _nothing _about fingerprints?

"I'm... I'm fine, kid," he said, wincing as he spoke. Not on purpose, despite his best efforts.

"You screamed pretty loud. And kind of high pitched. Also, you just collapsed after taking a step, so it seemed like you needed help."

"Kid," he responded as he painfully rose to full height (only a few inches above the kid), "I'm not new to walking. I appreciate the concern but I just need to find my bal... ance..."

His vision was shaking as he attempted to step around the kid. He stumbled while making his next step, and saw the sand grow increasingly close.

Pain might be conquerable. Power drain, however, was not.

* * *

"So Yen Sid was freaking out, huh?" Ventus thought aloud, as Aqua finished recounting her tale. She had caught up with him and Terra on the way to Radiant Garden, so they were strolling through the newly refurbished cobblestone streets while she went into details.

"Yeah, it was really bizarre," Aqua noted. "He knew more about this 'Thanatos' person than he let on, and just the mention of John set him on edge. It was Xehanort all over again."

"John? Who's John?" Terra asked, walking along Aqua's right.

"It's Paladin. We... had a lot of time to chat."

"Right," Terra said with a sly smile. "Chatting."

Ventus gave him a curious look. "It's what I do when I'm bored."

Terra circled around Aqua, ruffling Ventus' spiky blond hair like a pet. "Someday, Ven, we'll tell you all about the birds and the bees."

Aqua simply shook her head and chuckled, as Ventus shrugged off Terra's hand indignantly. "Nothing happened. Just a lot of talking and waiting for something to happen."

"Again, _right_," said Terra. "Anyway, what do you want to do?"

"Well, if he's anything like I was after I got out of the Realm, he'll probably be delirious and out of sorts. We should check the border worlds to see if he made it out there."

"You think he could escape on his own? I mean, you're a Master and even you needed help," Ventus noted.

Aqua nodded, her thoughts remembering the reserved man with untapped power. "He looks like he could collapse with a single punch, but I'm sure of it. He got out by some means. The way the Realm of Darkness lit up when Xehanort fell, it couldn't have been hard for _anyone _to escape."

"That's true, I suppose," Terra said. "The _X-_blade didn't exactly fizzle when it was destroyed. Could've torn holes across the entire universe."

"So theoretically he could have been thrown away from the Realm. I guess checking out the border worlds isn't..." Ventus' words trailed off as the three halted at the sight of a dark portal circling in the city's courtyard. People were either fleeing upon seeing it or were entranced and unable to turn away.

Suddenly, flashes of movement shot out of the portal and down landed a handful of snarling dark creatures, their eyes glinting with yellow light. This was the signal the remaining inhabitants needed to turn and run, leaving the three Keyblade Masters with the new arrivals.

"Heartless," the three spoke venomously as their hands shot forward, glowed bright and gripped their summoned Keyblades, a magnificent blend of weapon and tool the size of an average person's arm. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus each moved into striking position: Aqua with her ornate blade held by her side, Terra wielding his bulkier blue-silver weapon in a parry stance, and Ventus gripping his Keyblade in reverse.

"Ready?" Aqua asked her fellow Masters. Terra and Ventus nodded, still staring at the increasing number of shadowy, snarling Heartless creatures pouring out of the Portal.

"Then let's fight!"

* * *

_Twilight Town..._

"C'mon Roxas, the vendor's almost out," Xion shouted as she ran down the road to the Station Plaza. He lagged behind, breathing heavily from the past few minutes of running.

"Xion... please... slow down," Roxas spoke between huffs of oxygen, trying to get back into a light jog. He continued wearily behind her, legs aching from the run.

Finally, the bright orange light of afternoon surrounded his vision as he reached the plaza. Central Station itself, the place where trams came and went, was closed for the day – a monthly tribute to universal peace after Xehanort's fall, the mayor had said. In celebration (and likely to make some profit), various vendors had either started sales or set up temporary stalls in the plaza.

To the far right stood Xion, waving at him from a frighteningly long line. So many people... why did so many people crave sea-salt ice cream?

_Oh right, it's really good. _

He shrugged and moved to meet with Xion. She looked good with her raven black hair grown out, wearing a burgundy sweater with the sleeves rolled and beige shorts. Very casual and relaxed for a Keyblade Master, but he liked that.

A slight shiver came over him, stopping him in his tracks.

_Huh?_

He thought he made out shrieking behind him, and by Xion's glance back at the marketplace she must have heard it too. He turned and saw a handful of people fleeing from the passage, followed by a leaping creature as dark as the night sky. Then two, then four, then eight...

Heartless. The pure physical embodiment of the absence of light.

As people started to trickle out of the plaza en masse, he tilted his head back. "Xi," he called out.

"With you," he heard in response. Then, with a flick of his wrist, his Keyblade appeared in his hand.

_A month. A month and the Heartless find a way back into our lives._

Well, he considered, time to take out some frustration for the lack of sea-salt ice cream in his belly. Because it was going to be a long day.

* * *

Once more today, he blinked to precede his awakening. Surprisingly, however, he found his body in relative comfort – a soft fabric surface lay under him as he arose into a sitting position and felt around. It was a bed, a proper bed, something he had not had in so very long. He'd missed the ability to sleep peacefully, or at all for that matter.

A light shot on, and he brought his head up. At the open doorway stood three young adults, each dressed in casual yet somehow combat-ready clothing. A man – no, closer to a boy – wearing that baggy sweater-shorts combination from earlier. Another silver-haired boy wearing a yellow vest and black pants. Between them, a young red-haired woman dressed in a pink mini-dress.

They didn't appear much older than sixteen. And yet, he sensed fatigue that could topple a samurai.

"Good, you're awake," the silver-haired kid spoke first. "You looked so beat up, we thought you wouldn't make it."

"Riku!" The spiky-haired kid was next to speak, turning to his friend. "He's our guest, not a Heartless."

"Well, it's true, he looked bad." Turning back to him, Silver-hair (or perhaps Riku) spoke again, "I didn't mean anything by it. You were just in and out of sleep for a long while and... well, the screams sort of died out after a while."

"Screams?" He asked.

"Yes," the girl finally spoke. "We were worried you were having fever dreams. But thankfully, now you're awake."

He rubbed his eyes, twisting his ankles around with a distinct click. The pain across his body had dulled to a faint ache, and the cuts on his legs and arms had scabbed over. He felt his smooth pale skin with his fingers, taking in the softness. How long had it been since his skin had been soft?

He glanced around the room, taking in the scattered clothes and children's toys strewn about. This was certainly lived in, if not civilized.

"Where am I?" he questioned. "And who are all of you?"

The trio looked at one another, silently urging one another to speak with their eyes. Finally Riku turned back to him and spoke. "You're on Destiny Islands, friend. I'm Riku, my spiky haired friend is Sora, and our lady friend is Kairi. How about you? What's your name?"

He curled and uncurled his fingers, still processing the information. "Most people call me Paladin."

"Paladin – don't think I've ever heard a name like that before," Riku said. He turned to Sora and Kairi. "Either of you heard a name like that before?"

"There was Xaldin," Sora noted, "but that's it." Kairi simply shrugged.

"Oh well," Riku lamented. "At any rate, you're welcome to join us for dinner if you're up to it. Sora's mom cooked up her classic paopu fruit soup – it's really good."

Paladin was still fixed on the information about the location. Destiny Islands? Definitely not Earth, certainly not a part of the Sol System or even the surrounding systems. And he remembered that beach... coming ashore, soaked to the bone, struggling to find sleep. But if it wasn't his universe, then...

The Origin Universe. Crap. Still trapped in the land of Keyblades and Heartless.

His musings were interrupted by Kairi grabbing his hand and pulling him forward suddenly, as she said, "C'mon. You can't be a lazy bum all night." Internally he panicked while being dragged out of the child's room, pulled down some golden wooden stairs, and forcibly sat down onto a reasonably comfortable wood chair set around a circular table.

A middle-aged woman with brown hair, tied back with an elegant grass knot, brought over a wood bowl and poured a steaming light red liquid into it. She set it down before him, resting her hand on Paladin's shoulder. "Feel better," she said quietly with a warm smile on her face before going to hand out the rest of the bowls.

* * *

"Thanks, mom," Sora said as he received his bowl. Kairi and Riku gave quiet words of thanks when they got their bowls.

Sora continued to watch the stranger, Paladin, examine the utensils set before him with curiosity. He'd never seen anyone so ragged and out-of-sorts, nor had he imagined anyone so quietly stubborn. Kairi had to _drag _him out of bed, something reserved only for Sora.

Still, there was something about Paladin that he couldn't shake, some recognizable feeling about him. The man had seen combat of some kind, judging by the many, many, _many _scars they had found across his torso and arms while caring for him. His face was pale beyond what was reasonable, made even more unsettling by the dull brown eyes, the rough black beard stretching down his neck, the shaggy mop-like hair atop his head, and the single thin scar hooking around his left eye towards his nose. Nothing symbolized _broken and tired _more than this man.

Paladin now spun his soup spoon in the bowl, sniffed at the steam arising from it, took small measured tastes with the spoon. His expression shifted from surprise to a flash of joy, as he took the bowl in both hands and began to sip directly from it.

Sora glanced at Riku and Kairi, who were just as entranced as he was. Did this man possess table manners at all, or was he really that far gone?

Following a few gulps, Sora watched Paladin set the bowl back on the table and pat his chest a couple of times. Paladin blinked, then, realizing he was being observed, turned to the three and spoke. "What did I do?"

Sora's mother, also observing, scoffed at his comment. "You did nothing wrong. Kids, please don't stare." Then with a flourish that left even Paladin surprised, she refilled the bowl and sat back down.

"Mom, I wasn't..." Sora began to complain.

But Kairi interrupted, shooting Sora her patented "not the time" look. "So, Paladin, where are you from? I don't recognize your uniform."

"Yes, I was also wondering that," Sora's mother added. "You have the look of a soldier about you."

Paladin looked a little surprised, as though he himself knew how scruffy and crestfallen he appeared. He gaped a little before appearing to settle on a response. "I'm a... consultant for my world's governments. I used to serve in the military, but I retired a couple decades ago and I've been advising new recruits ever since."

"Really? What organization are you with?" Sora's mother asked.

"I go in-between groups," Paladin said in a humble voice. "Usually I specialize in training, well, superhuman or magic-using soldiers. I taught a close-quarters combat style and guerilla tactics, primarily, since my world has a number of ongoing international conflicts."

"Sounds like you're busy," Riku noted. "Have you ever worked with SOLDIER?"

Paladin paused, with a thoughtful look on his face. He was glancing upward, his eyebrow fluctuating up and down.

"SOLDIER... Oh, right, Zack Fair," he stated confidently, his face actually appearing to warm up. "I've crossed paths with SOLDIER a few times, and I've even gotten to duel Zack once, but not much more than that. I like their style, though – it never ceases to amaze me when a group can integrate blade-based combat into regular operations."

"You like blades?" Sora asked, tilting his head (and trying not to collapse from being top-heavy, since his hair was most DEFINITELY not too spiky).

"They're the cornerstone of warfare, a lost art in the long history of existence. Yes, technology has come a long way, but it's lessened the sense of honour and passion brought into a battle. Nowadays it's all about the shiniest guns and the biggest most destructive explosions, NOT standing one's ground against equally matched foes, making an awe-inspiring final stand on a weathered battlefield. It's like this one battle I fought in Kyoto..."

Paladin gushed on and on about his frenzied encounter with something called a samurai, but Sora kind of tuned out. He was more focused on the details, like the impassioned hand motions Paladin was using to tell his story, or the shine in his eyes, or the light trickle of red emerging from the side of his mouth.

"... Of course, once we crossed blades again, we wouldn't be able to share sake – that's a traditional alcohol in Japan made from rice – since it came down to fulfilling obligations in the end. Sad but inevitable in that..." Paladin stopped once he began to lean on his chin with his palm, feeling the wetness of his mouth.

"Here," Sora's mother said as she handed Paladin a handkerchief. He grabbed it, nodding in appreciation, before beginning to cough lightly into it. After a sustained few seconds of coughing, Paladin wiped his mouth off and place the handkerchief back on the table.

"Are you alright?" Sora asked.

"Fine, fine. Just a bit of a cold. You know, I think I'm feeling well enough for a walk," Paladin spoke confidently. "If anyone wants to join me, I'd like to get my bearings for this world."

"I'll come along. Don't want you ruining all my healing magic," Kairi said with a smirk.

Riku nodded in agreement. "I think I want to hear more about these _samurai_ of yours."

Then Paladin turned to Sora, and for a split second something rushed in him. It was as though his heart was reaching out across time and space, desperately trying to find some sense of companionship – only to grasp at something beautiful, something moving, something as open to emotion as him. If his power was to connect with others, then it felt as though this man – this Paladin – could do the same.

Paladin was the first to speak. "Sora, was it? Want to come along and listen to an old man's spiel?"

"Sure," Sora said quietly. As the others got up to leave, Sora gave his mother a kiss on the cheek, which she returned with a brush of her lip on his head. On the way out, though, he passed by the handkerchief, still left hanging off the edge of the table. Most of it was still clean white, but in its centre was a thick red blot.

* * *

"So," Paladin started, limping across the beach as fast as his legs would allow, "tell me a bit about yourselves. What are three kids up to in an island paradise?"

"We're not that young anymore," Riku noted.

"More to the point, we're sort of on vacation," Kairi added. "It's nice to relax a bit after everything from the past two years."

"Right. So tell me about those two years," Paladin interjected. "Otherwise, I might start to think my instincts are out of whack or that I'm actually comatose and in some kind of fear-induced fantasy."

"Why would you think that?" Kairi asked, looking confused.

"I got the impression that the three of you are veterans of combat."

The crunching of sand grew louder behind them as Sora finally caught up. "You think we're veterans?"

"Of something, yes," Paladin affirmed. "It's your clothes – relaxed, but with a sense of general purpose that suggests you are or were on edge. Also, your positure is _mostly _formal, indicating you've received training in some kind of etiquette. Etiquette training, so far as I've gleaned from this universe, doesn't usually go hand-in-hand with combat training, which means... you're not SOLDIER, you're not freelance, so... what are you _precisely_?"

"We're Keyblade Masters," Sora declared proudly.

"Ah..." Paladin understood now. They may seem young, but they were just the right age for Keyblade training. And Kairi did mention healing magic.

"What was that about _this universe?_" Riku asked.

"Nothing of consequence," Paladin brushed over quickly. He didn't want any more questions raised than necessary. "So being Keyblade Masters, you would be in the position to wield the Keyblade and say, show it off?"

"Definitely," answered Sora, gaining a glare from Kairi. "I mean, they're tools for serving the worlds, but from time to time we reaffirm their existence through... show-and-tell, I guess."

"Show-and-tell. It's been a while since I've attended show-and-tell. Tell me," Paladin addressed all three, "would it be unreasonable if I asked to see the Keyblades for myself? I've got a soft spot for giant magic-fuelled blades."

"Well..." Riku, Kairi and Sora glanced at one another, clearly weighing the decision. He understood the hesitance, but on the other hand it was well-known that wielding the Keyblade was a privilege, a great honour bestowed upon a noble few. Surely the desire to showcase the elegance of their blades, and the responsibility it entailed, had merit.

"I suppose," Kairi started, "if everyone's comfortable with it, we could summon them and do some practice."

"We _are _Masters, after all," added Riku. "If we didn't stay in shape, who knows how the next battle could play out?"

"So we're really doing this?" Sora and Paladin both asked at the same time, turning to each other in surprise.

"Sure," Riku said, a quiet smile on his face.

The four stopped by a large cropping of rocks, splitting apart to grant the necessary amount of space. It was agreed that Kairi would go first, then Riku, then Sora last (despite his complaints that his was the most basic and made more sense to go first).

Kairi stretched out her arm, the book-shaped charm on her metal bracelet wiggling as a bright light shone from her hand. The light began to increase in size, molding its shape into a rounded and curved rod. Then, as light faded to dark, the form was shown in full to be an intricate blade: at its tip was a collection of colourful decorative flowers, leading down a rod that changed from red to gold, halting at a reverse heart-shaped grip with one half shaped as a crashing blue wave. Finally, a keychain of a yellow fruit sprouting twin leaves hung from the grip.

"This is Destiny's Embrace," Kairi declared, "and this is what it can do." Sweeping the blade across the sand, a burst of heat splashed across him as fire exploded outward. It surged toward him for a split second, then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Impressive," said Riku, "but now it's my turn." With a flick of his wrist, little threads of dark energy shot towards the space left open by his hand, gathering together and forming the shape of a straight-forward pointed blade with a vague appendage sticking out. The tip of the Keyblade formed, revealing a crimson triangular blade marked only by a curved grey wing along the side and two black stripes across the blade's surface.

The threads of darkness finished merging, and Paladin was surprised by the outcome. The blade, seeming to favour practicality over style, nevertheless exuded a sense of symbolism. Setting aside the grey wing extension, the Keyblade's grip was divided between a pure white wing and a demonic black wing, separated by a lighter red handhold.

It felt discomforting on some level, yet it still gave Paladin a sense of solidarity in the face of evil.

"I spent a lot of time in the darkness," said Riku. "But I never gave up reaching for the light, trying to make for my mistakes. So, in recognition of those struggles, this is my Way to the Dawn." With another flick, a pair of shadowy tendrils emerged from the sand, grasping at Paladin.

Paladin fell backwards, trying to fend them off. But Riku was still in control, as he raised Way to the Dawn silently, and the tendrils simply stopped. Riku swished the Keyblade around, which caused the tendrils to contract and vanish.

"Wow," Paladin said as Sora and Kairi helped him to his feet, "that's quite the handle on darkness you have."

Riku shrugged. "I try."

Next, Paladin turned to Sora. Sora rubbed his hands together, held out his left hand, and closed his eyes. The sky briefly illuminated beyond what Paladin could conceive, blinding him for a split second, but as quickly as it occurred the light faded.

When his vision started to refocus, Paldin caught a glimpse of the blade that had materialized.

Simple. Iconic. Unassuming. A basic colour scheme, consisting of gold for the handle and silver for the blade section. A key chain courtesy of Disney Castle, shaped like its mouse king. The "key" portion shaped like a crown, and yet the closest to an actual key between the three Keyblades.

Memory may have faded or vanished on some counts for him, but this was too significant to forget.

"I won't forget the day I got this Keyblade," Sora reminisced. "The day our lives changed."

"We were separated for the longest time," added Riku.

"And it took a year for us to find each other again," said Kairi, "but through it all we were still friends. We were still united as one."

Sora nodded, smiling. "We're friends to the end. And this key protects our friendship, just as it protects Kingdom Hearts. That's why it's called..."

"The Kingdom Key."

Sora, Kairi and Riku all turned to Paladin, who was fixated entirely on the Keyblade currently held by Sora. He was enchanted by its simple elegance, conjuring images of someone toiling away in a foundry, hammering away at red-hot metal, enchanting the vibranium blade with an incantation centuries in the making, grasping at the newly formed tool – no, the _weapon _created to defend Kingdom Hearts. It was someone's creation, their blood and sweat brought to life in physical form.

And now a young boy, younger than he could recall being, held it as his own.

"You've heard of it?" Sora asked.

"I know of its creator," Paladin responded. "Would... would it be unreasonable if I asked to hold it, just once?"

Sora looked at him, as Paladin looked at Sora. Finally, Sora relented. "Alright," he said, handing over the blade.

Paladin held the blade with open palms, keeping it aloft as one would treat a pair of plates. Heat radiated from its surface, filling him with a sense of comfort he'd not felt in a long time. He sensed the consciousness at its core awakening, reaching out to him, like old friends reuniting after years of separation.

"You obeyed your master, didn't you?" Paladin addressed the Key. "His last command? His plea for a worthy champion? A true hero?" But there was no response, no clear-cut answer. He couldn't have expected much from a semi-sentient blade, even with magical properties.

He slowly returned the blade to Sora, feeling the warmth in his veins dissipate. Somehow, he felt less sure of the future of this universe in spite of the fact that Sora seemed like a strong candidate to wield it. But then, the Key chose Sora – it listened to the criteria, and made a decision. Didn't it?

He shook his head as Sora looked over the Kingdom Key. This wasn't the time.

"It's an impressive blade," Paladin finally said. Sora looked up and smiled.

"I'm glad you think so. It's helped me countless times, whether it's fighting off Heartless, or Nobodies, or Dream Eaters." Sora then looked at Kairi and Riku. "But it's best when fighting in unison with my friends."

"Well," Riku started, "I guess we'd better head back. Your mom might get worried, Sora."

And so the four began the walk back, Paladin's mind still drawn to his moment with the Key. He didn't like the way in which he craved it, the way it lingered like smoke in his mind. For that brief moment, it made him happy and whole again.

A loud beeping pulled him back into reality. Each of the young Masters reached into their pockets and pulled out a star-shaped device of a sort, each glowing and fading in second-long intervals.

"Something's wrong," said Kairi. "Yen Sid's signalling us."

"Can we wait until I say goodbye to my mom first?" Sora asked.

Riku shook his head. "No time, we've got to get to the Tower. Paladin, you're welcome to join us. Chances are good that we'll be in for a fight, and having a trained soldier with us might help."

"Certainly," Paladin said quietly. "How, may I ask, will we be getting to this Tower?"

"Magic," Sora said.

* * *

The bumpy ride aboard her sleek Keyblade Glider, followed swiftly by a climb up the stone staircase leading to Yen Sid's study, didn't have nearly the same effect on a weary Aqua like the sight of hundreds of Heartless did. To think, she and her friends had spent a month peacefully recuperating and managing small disputes, completely ignorant to something of this magnitude.

She'd smack herself if she weren't climbing so many stairs. And if she weren't sick to her stomach.

But at last, in front of a panting Ventus and Terra, she arrived at the door to the study. She pushed it open without much care, receiving a shriek of pain in the ear as a a result.

"Ow!" said the black trenchcoat-wearing Keyblade wielder shaking his enormous red mane in disapproval. "Guess Keyblade Masters don't have much concern for manners anymore, huh, Aqua?"

"Nice to see you too, _Master _Lea," Aqua spoke in as sarcastic a way as her voice could allow.

Axel touched his chest, feigning being heartwarmed. "I'm _touched _that you remembered my title. See, we are friends, after all. I'll even forgive your brief outburst of rudeness – I'm sure you had the best of intentions."

"Shut up, Lea," Roxas said from across the room.

Aqua took a moment to survey who had arrived. So far, aside from herself, Lea, Ventus and Roxas, most of the other Masters had arrived. King Mickey, wearing his red short-sleeved jacket and pants, stood beside the sitting Yen Sid. Beside Lea was Isa, a blue-haired youth like herself wearing a simple grey sweater and beige pants. Across the room was Roxas, in a white-grey hooded shirt and grey pants, leaning against the wall. Finally, next to Roxas stood Namine and Xion. Namine was light blonde with a straightforward white dress, while the black-haired Xion complemented Roxas with a burgundy sweater and beige shorts, but... their faces were both pale and smooth, their eyes lightly twinkling. There had always been something a little bizarre about them, something Aqua couldn't quite place.

Nevertheless, most of the twelve were here. All that remained...

A crash outside sounded out, putting everyone on edge. Roxas jumped up, willing both Keyblades into his waiting hands.

Then, comically over-the-top shouting.

"EVERY. TIME. SORA. EVERY TIME."

"I didn't mean to. I just held the steering wheel for a second..."

"And you crashed the ship. AGAIN!"

"Hey, YOU were the one who was supposed to be flying. Why did you turn away from the controls?" The arguing voices grew louder as the sound of stopping feet on stone grew closer.

"Because I was checking to see we were on track, AND we had a passenger onboard. You don't want me to care about passengers? Fine, from now on you get to sit in the back and comfort our guests."

Finally the door opened to reveal a redder-than-usual Kairi pushing a humbled Sora into the room, followed closely by Riku, whose coy smile said more than words. Aqua expected that to be the end of the conga line, but another figure entered.

"So..." the fourth person, a scrappy and bearded man wearing a patched-up black jumpsuit, spoke. "Did we come too late?"

Everyone turned from the bickering couple to this newcomer, including Sora and a now-calming Kairi.

Yen Sid, in particular, regarded the man not with confusion, but with recognition and... something else. Fear? Aqua couldn't imagine what the great Master Yen Sid had to fear from someone so unimposing.

As the bearded man stepped forward, Aqua felt her own wave of recognition. It was in the way he walked, the way he composed himself. Even if he looked like a homeless old man, this person had the stance of a trained officer, someone with discipline and focus. How long had she stared at such a man, such a friend in the worst place she'd ever been?

_John?_

Then it occurred to her that Yen Sid had begun to address the gathered Masters. "I realise this is rather sudden, given the short period of time since the fall of Xehanort, but as some of you have seen this is a matter that requires addressing."

Yen Sid arose from his chair, waving his robed hand to activate a hologram on the far right wall. Roxas shifted to look at it along with everyone else. It displayed a faint blue image of Radiant Garden, from the viewpoint of space. Dozens of red dots appeared on the image.

"These red indicators," spoke Yen Sid, "represent gates into the Realm of Darkness. As Masters Aqua, Ventus and Terra informed me, they have opened quite suddenly and have allowed the spread of countless Heartless across the world."

Another flick of his wrist, and the hologram changed to that of Twilight Town. More red dots cropped up on the world's profile.

"As you can see, other worlds are suffering the same fate. Roxas and Xion witnessed the resurgence of Heartless in Twilight Town, and Lea and Isa observed a similar occurence, correct?"

"Yes," answered Lea. "It was on the way back from Castle Oblivion. We were just shooting the breeze, when suddenly Heartless just came pouring out of portals."

"We tried to hold them off as long as we could," added Isa," but it was a thick crowd of them. We had to retreat."

Yen Sid appeared pensive, nodding at their explanation without truly hearing it. "Thus, we have our dilemma. Paladin, what have you to say on the matter?"

The bearded man looked up, and all eyes were on him. Aqua watched him stiffen into standing position, a soldier before his commander. She also noted how everyone else in the room was mildly confused, likely at the mention of the name Thanatos and the sheer... appearance of Paladin.

"You want me to interpret this?" Paladin asked in a quiet tone. "I don't believe I'm qualified for this sort of scenario."

"Settle, Mr. O'Riley, settle. I merely seek your consultation talents on a matter that greatly resembles a pattern I have observed before," said Yen Sid. "After all, was it not you who warned me of Thanatos through Aqua here?"

Paladin turned his head and caught her eyes. She saw the widening of his eyes as he recognized her, saw his mouth open to speak but heard nothing. Then he turned back to Yen Sid.

"I did give that warning, yes. But I assumed it wouldn't be of use unless Thanatos actively made a move. This," Paladin said as he gestured at the hologram, "this isn't his style. Loosing wild creatures made from a compound he can neither understand nor control? No, there's more here."

"Well then, smart man," Lea interjected, "educate us. What _is _going on here?"

Aqua couldn't see the exact expression he gave to Lea, but she imagined Paladin was borderline irate. Nevertheless he continued, "Can you pull up a full map of the universe? Images of the other worlds, maybe?"

Yen Sid nodded and, once more, shifted his wrist. The room's top half became filled with holographic images of dozens upon dozens of worlds, maybe all of them. She was entranced by the glow of these translucent images.

"Alright. Now you, kid," Paladin said, pointing to Roxas. "Where did you say the Heartless attacked?"

"Twilight Town," was Roxas's muttered response.

"Highlight that in red, please," Paladin asked Yen Sid. In the far right of the room, a floating village-like landmass turned pure crimson. She could see a representation of the tower in which they stood not far from the Twilight Town hologram.

"Excellent. Next... you said Radiant Garden, right? Highlight that."

Closer to the centre, a more sturdy and gothic world began to glow a deep red. Paladin glanced around, pointing at a virtual image of a barren world, populated only by a castle.

"There. Castle Oblivion."

Aqua glanced at it, seeing not the simple scorched fields but a bountiful and flourishing land that once housed the Keyblade Masters. To think that in just ten years, her home would go from being the famed Land of Departure, to a place of lost memories and hollow souls. The dead truly haunted that world.

* * *

The third image shifted from light blue to red.

"Three worlds in jeopardy," said Mickey at last, taking in the widespread reach of the Heartless outbreak. "Do you have any idea if someone _could have_ provoked these attacks?"

Paladin reluctantly glanced around, trying to piece together a trail. Too many years had gone by without practicing his strategic thinking, the one part of his combat experience that _consistently _failed him. He was too impatient, they had said, too head-strong and ignorant of the importance that thoughtful planning holds in survival. He'd been immortal too long with too many opportunities to simply behead his problems, there was no sugar-coating it.

But now something stood before him, a problem that couldn't be solved by slicing, stabbing, decapitating, quartering, burning, freezing, electrocuting, bleeding out, strangling, or otherwise maiming. An honest-to-God conundrum in need of a thinking man's answer.

Clearly he was over thinking it. Lord did he want to just stab something.

Okay, focus. About ten seconds had passed without a word. Castle Oblivion was furthest away, given that it was on the far left on the room. Twilight Town was within spitting distance of the tower, which made the fact that they prioritized a meeting _over _fortifying their defense all the more worrisome. Radiant Garden was near the centre of the universe, ending up settled almost half-way between the previous two worlds.

Something about the space between Castle Oblivion and Twilight Town bugged him, something... linear. He recalled the Hannibal Offensive, but... no, Radiant Garden was off-centre. It couldn't be a physical inward push from that point. The formation around the inner space was all wrong.

Still, that space between the first two worlds. Maybe it was a net-type offensive, meant to push inward and trap them. Or a Z-formation in the making, with the goal of swooping in on the tower.

Or maybe Thanatos was playing mind games. He _was_ an asshole.

No, the tower was the goal, that much was clear. Why else would someone get so close to a place from which the single most powerful governing force in this universe operates? Whatever he was doing, it was bold and daring. But it was calculated on some level. And it worried Paladin.

"He's just standing there like an idiot," Lea noted. The floppy-haired man on Aqua's left nodded in agreement. Aqua gave the man her "Cut it out" look and slapped his shoulder, which he then proceeded to rub.

"It's this space," Paladin finally spoke, drawing an invisible line between Castle Oblivion and Twilight Town. "I'd understand if Thanatos had struck closer, then we'd be dealing with a triangulated attack pattern, but... this is just bizarre. It's too far out, too isolated for any reasonable attack on this tower."

"You believe this tower is his target?" asked Yen Sid.

"Almost certainly. He's too close for comfort as it is, and there's enough here to suggest he _is _trying to put pressure on you from all sides. What I don't get is WHY. Why attack this place? Why attack this tower? What is there of value?"

"Countless books and artifacts from across history," answered Yen Sid. "But nothing worthwhile to a being of chaos such as Thanatos."

"Okay," continued Paladin, "then what about protocols? Procedures?" He glanced around the room. "What do you people do when something goes wrong?"

Xion raised her hand. "We usually get an emergency signal on our Wayfinders, sent by Master Yen Sid. Then we make our way here, try to glean what information we can, and go solve the given problem. Usually."

"Usually?"

Yen Sid fielded the next question. "Some circumstances require immediate action. As such, I sometimes use intermediaries to give advice and orders – holographic projects, word of mouth, whatever is necessary. But with most problems the Masters know to come here first."

"Here," repeated Paladin. "Okay, this is your meeting point, where all of you come. Where... all... of..."

He trailed off, realizing at that moment how very uncomfortable he suddenly felt in close quarters. He also made note of the bright red glow that was increasing in size outside of the study's windows.

"Oh fu-"

* * *

Darkness consumed him as the sound of endless ringing continued to fill his ears. Normandy hadn't been this bad, and there he'd been firing AA guns for twelve hours straight. Here, it was as though he were completely blind, rolling around crumbling rock and dust.

Suddenly, a break in the debris formed, shining the light of day in his face. Through it he saw a dirtied but impassioned face with long blue hair flowing down the sides. She knelt beside him, wiping something from his forehead.

"Are you alright?" Aqua asked.

Paladin tried to respond as calmly and quietly as he could. "I'M NOT ALIGHT, I'M JUST DEAF."

"You don't have to shout."

"WHAT? I DON'T HAVE TO MOUTH? I'M SPEAKING AT MY NORMAL VOLUME."

"C'mon, work with me here," she said as she lifted him by the shoulder and started carrying him from the crevice.

"DO WHAT TO YOU HERE? BUY ME DINNER FIRST!"

All around him, he saw the savaged remains of the tower and fell silent. Whatever had hit them didn't hold back, instead bringing the tower down entirely. The area in which he had been trapped appeared to be the remains of the staircase, if the tumble before his unconsciousness was to be believed.

And straight ahead was the main show. He saw at least half of the Masters gathered around a massive source of flame, with a figure dancing erratically in the centre. Lea and Isa were keeping the fire going with their spells, Riku was forming his patented shadow tendrils around the base, and Sora and Kairi were firing bolts of electricity into the mix.

But the figure did not topple, did not shout, did not give any indication that it felt pain. Instead it continued to dodge with twists of the arms and legs beyond what was humanly conceivable, and bending past the spine's limits.

Suddenly two whips as thin as paper but sparking with electric current shot through the flames. Lea caught one with his fire-themed Keyblade, but another caught under his leg and tripped him. Riku pushed in with all his might as Isa fired a massive wave of heat, only for the whips to smack Riku in the face simultaneously. Collapsing, his control over the tendrils faded leaving Isa to be hit in the chest.

A seismic wave rushed across the field, knocking himself and Aqua down, leaving Sora and Kairi the two Masters remaining. It kicked up a massive current of air through the fire, snuffing it out in second.

Sora and Kairi each dug their Keyblades into the ground, pulling the earth loose as the wind ceased.

Paladin looked up and dreaded what he saw. Ahead of him, coated in shined silver hardware, flicking around twin electrified wrist whips, was the grim presence that was Thanatos. At his feet lay what was undoubtedly Yen Sid, the front of his blue robe torn and bloodied.

"NO! Sora, Kairi!" Paladin shouted in vain, seeing the duo charge at the metal behemoth.

It happened fast, and it happened in slow motion. Thanatos began with a reverse sweep of his whips, his right arm starting on the left and the left arm starting on the right. Each whip struck a Keyblade, shoving them off-centre, which forced both Masters to adjust by going into an overhead strike. Exactly as planned, Thanatos ducked under Sora's weapon arm, gripped it tightly, and pulled it behind the boy's back. In the tradition of CQC, hand and arm were snapped.

Sora began to fall, as Thanatos moved for Kairi. As Kairi was still pivoting to help Sora, she was unprepared for the twin blades Thanatos jammed into her torso, launched from his wrist. He pulled back his head and delivered a final swift headbutt, pulling his blades loose from her chest as she collapsed on her back.

Despite the faint ragged breathing he heard from Sora, or the brief shriek from Kairi, it was over. Thanatos retracted his blades and began walking towards Paladin.

Paladin struggled to his feet, the ringing still present. But his legs ached, and he collapsed to his knees.

He felt a mechanized hand grip his neck, asserting just enough pressure to make a point. In a raspy voice, Thanatos finally spoke, "You and I have unfinished business. These people are unnecessary casualties."

Paladin looked up, staring straight into the dead grey eyes of his rival. He felt nothing but loathing for this human shell now, now that he had truly gone past the point of no return. He desired nothing more than to gut this bastard here and now.

The grip increased. "Focus, Paladin. These worlds cannot survive the drain of light. If you want to protect these people, seek me on the third planet of Sol."

Then he felt the hand slide away, and watched Thanatos turn to walk towards a now conspicuous distortion along the world's edge. Defiant as ever, Paladin rose back to his feet and called out to Thanatos. "And if I refuse?"

Thanatos turned back once more. "Then their lives are forfeit. I look forward to seeing you on Earth." And with a blink, he disappeared into the distortion.


	3. Act I: Gone Home

**ACT 1**

Gone Home  


Back in 1944, when he had been infiltrating Germany in order to free his son Sam after three years out of contact, Paladin never thought he would find any sight as gruelling as the death camps. He'd gone weeks without showering, days without food, about 36 hours without water... and yet the dulled pain he felt from the prisoners, the faint traces of hope being crushed to dust, was more unbearable than all of that combined. He had vomited for days afterwards.

Never again, he swore to himself, never again would he allow such suffering. And once again he had failed his vow.

Everything was somewhat faint at the moment – holding down the sucking wound on Kairi's chest, feeling blood seep through his fingers, the sight from the ship's viewport as they shot through space. He thought he heard a shriek as Aqua fulfilled her agreement to fix Sora's arm, a snapping sound following shortly after that he could not bear.

The landing at Disney Castle was silent in his mind, made fitting by the grey cloud cover hanging over the courtyard that the group marched across. He and Terra, the dark-haired friend of Aqua, each held a side of the makeshift hamper Kairi now lay upon. Yen Sid hung from Lea's shoulder, the old man's face pale and drifting out of consciousness.

And then he blinked, finding himself to be sitting on a bench, surrounded by the other still-conscious Masters. Aqua was leaned against Terra to Paladin's right, Ventus was staring at the floor on his left.

Never again, hadn't he said?

The door to the hospital room opened, and Sora walked out, sporting a cast on his right arm. "They say she's unconscious but alive," he said quietly, slinking into the bench opposite him.

Paladin saw the watery eyes, the catch in the kid's throat. For a moment he could close his eyes and simply step away from the pain, just as the years had taught him. Cut out the suffering, thrive in the chance for revenge. But something felt wrong this time. He wanted this kid, this young boy whose friend may very well die, to have comfort in this moment of peril.

"She's strong, Sora," Paladin spoke in a calming tone, "she can make it through this. I believe it."

Sora glanced up at him, his eyes reddened. "You're sure? She... she seemed so distant."

Beside him, Riku patted him on the shoulder. "_We're_ still alive. If we made it, so can she."

"Right," Paladin affirmed with a nod. "Just have a little faith."

Sora wiped his eyes, giving off as wide a smile as Paladin imagined his heart could manage. "Okay. Faith, it is."

It would be hours later before Mickey exited the room and gave the news. Their hearts prepared to plummet with the expected words, yet he had only hope in his voice. "Come on, everyone. They're waking up now."

Paladin entered behind the Masters, keeping his distance out of respect. He saw a pair of gurneys were now occupying the recovery room, holding Yen Sid and Kairi in resting positions. Yen Sid appeared to still be in slumber, but Kairi was yawning loudly and stretching out her arms.

"Hey guys," she finally said as her hospital gown settled around her. "What's up?"

Sora was the first to hug her, running through the crowd of visitors and practically leaping arms-first at Kairi. Then, presumably realizing he could be crushing his critically injured friend, he loosened his embrace somewhat and settled for gripping Kairi's arms, his face lighting up with joy.

"Are you alright? Did they treat you well? Did it sting? Does it still hurt? I can cast a healing spell or two if it helps. I was losing it out there, you would not believe..."

Kairi silenced him with a tender kiss on the lips. "I'm alright. Don't worry so much, knucklehead. I'm alright."

"I couldn't help it, Kai. My heart hurt. I mean, you're..."

She held his face with her hand, staring into Sora's eyes with passion. "I know."

The two touched their heads together, hands intertwined. It was a moment outside of time, a bubble of security and joy that the two seemed to relish, not realizing anyone else was present. It was their time together and all the watching eyes and smirks in the world didn't matter to them.

He envied their youthful passion, their ability to love so unconditionally. He remembered the sensation of his own ray of sunshine touching her head with his, his beloved, the keeper of his soul.

_I don't want this moment to end._

He remembered her shimmering blue eyes that reminded him of the country sky, and the way her smile crooked at the tip in just the right way to make his heart soar, and the little dimples in her cheeks that showed when she laughed. She loved to laugh.

_We're gonna be a family, John. _

Again the urge to cough came up, and he silently excused himself to have a hacking fit a few doors down. The blood wasn't as viscous and plentiful as before, so it was easy to wipe with a sleeve.

When he returned to the other room Yen Sid was now awake and surrounded by his pupils. The old master had regained some of his peach colour, but there were hints of grey around his eyes. Upon seeing Paladin, the old man gestured to get him to come closer.

Paladin approached, standing between Lea and Mickey. Yen Sid coughed lightly, then began to speak in a raspier tone than usual. "We have much to discuss. Please, all of you, I would like to address Mr. O'Riley alone."

The other Masters didn't dare question the wishes of an injured old man, and so they filed out one by one. In the rear was Sora lifting Kairi from her bed, staying behind her to ward off any wandering eyes. Finally, it was just the two of them – Paladin and Yen Sid.

"I did not want to worry the others," said Yen Sid, coughing lightly as he spoke. "This conflict has already brought more damage than I expected, and I do not particularly wish for any more of my former pupils to be harmed."

"Of course," Paladin responded, nodding respectfully.

"Then you must understand what I mean when I say you must go to Earth. You must confront this evil and vanquish it, away from where it can do harm."

"Master Yen Sid, all due respect, I know this. I know the stakes. But... Thanatos is a special kind of villain. He plays mind games, he calculates his moves, and he leads people into situations from which there is no escape." Paladin tried so hard to impart his frustration, his repeated failures, but it came out as belligerent whining.

"I understand your hesitation. I especially understand given your time in the Realm of Darkness, but there are no other options. What you choose to do on your world is _your _choice, but my students are off-limits. Thanatos must be stopped at all costs."

Paladin sighed, then shrugged. "Very well, it will be done. Come to think of it, I should still have allies and resources on Earth. 2015 can't have changed that much, right?"

"Tell me," Yen Sid suddenly enquired, "did you say you came here in 2015?"

"Well, _a_ 2015, not necessarily my native one," Paladin pondered. "But that's besides the point. Why do you ask?"

Yen Sid, despite being visibly tired, gave what appeared to be a concerned look. Then it faded as he shook his head. "It does not matter. Go now, and right the wrong that has been committed."

Paladin nodded once more, turning his back to leave the room, but additionally to ponder further on this interaction. What _exactly _had Yen Sid meant by that question? And why did he get the creeping feeling that the Earth he left _wasn't_ as he left it?

* * *

Aqua liked sitting atop the towers of the castle, staring into the distance. It was a lot like much of her childhood years, where she'd find the highest point of the citadel and look up at the sky. She'd point to stars and wonder, _Will I ever get to visit them one day_? Or she would spot a flock of birds and try to count them, enamoured by their colour and their ability to coordinate as a group.

Today, quite clearly, wasn't right for nostalgic reminiscing. But she still couldn't help the feeling that times were better _before _she'd ever heard the word "Keyblade".

The others had gathered to discuss what their plan of action would be. To say there was initially division would be generous. Despite being laid up, Sora and Kairi were the most vocal about intervening – Sora made what she considered to be one of the better arguments in its favour, and surprisingly one of the simplest.

"He knew something, why else would he bring up the drain of the light?" the younger Master had said. "If he's causing the Heartless to appear, then we _have _to go. Or it could get worse."

Riku, reaching over to rest his hand on Sora's shoulder, disagreed on the grounds of their last fight. "He was prepared for us. Look at how easily he beat all of us, even Yen Sid. I can't imagine another fight would make a difference."

Roxas, Lea, and Xion all favoured staying, to Riku's approval. Isa was indifferent, though he offhandedly suggested sending some of their allies in their place. Namine, Ventus and Terra supported Sora's argument, leaving Aqua as the odd vote out. Mickey was still watching over Yen Sid but had asked that his vote be for staying - "We must hold out hope," the wise mouse had said, "that Paladin can stop this threat at its source."

So now, in her own place of peace, Aqua could mull over the two options (three, if Isa was to be taken seriously) and come to a decision. Was it better to risk everything on a single trip, or would showing restraint in these matters be more prudent?

She sighed sadly. To be young and ignorant again...

"I thought I'd find you in exile," she heard from behind her, looking up to see Paladin sit down at her side. "I know you want your space, but I just want to be clear – no one has to accompany me. I can handle this. No one else needs to get involved."

"I know that," Aqua answered frankly. "We want to. They want to, anyway. I don't really know what the best course of action is here, but I feel as though this mission of yours matters above all else."

Paladin gave a grunt. "But do you _believe _it? Because if this is all about the democratic process, I _will _walk out now."

"It's not like that," she answered exasperatedly, "it's just... we've been through a lot. Not just today but for the longest time. They're going to be divided about what to do because, with all we've suffered and all we've bore witness to, I can't honestly say _any of us_ want to go to war again. I certainly don't."

"But you understand my position, and why I have to do what I do."

"Yes, of course. But this isn't about you, John, this is about a lot of good-hearted people coming to terms with one of their greatest fears: a foe so evil, so cruel, so unbelievably unrepentant that he crushes the light, and the fair, and the just through sheer force of will. No one claiming to be a hero could possibly ignore that."

She turned to him. "Right, John?"

Paladin was silent, worrying her. There was a dullness to his eyes that she hadn't noticed before, something that contrasted with her memory of a man absolutely enthralled by the dream of going home, communicating his deepest desire through the shine in his otherwise stoic expression. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but something about her friend felt lost and confused, broken even.

Then he began to smile, throwing off her analysis. "Well, at any rate, you have my approval. Boy, it's going to be a good old fashioned adventure. Venturing to a far off land, experiencing the sights, battling evils great and mighty. Who knows," he winked, "we might find a prince or two for you along the way."

She raised an eyebrow, confused as a person could be. What in the great cosmos had happened to her friend John, the lone Paladin with stoicism as a face mask?

"Uh, great. I guess it's settled," she managed to say. "I'll go tell the others and we'll make our way to the Tower."

"Excellent. Radical. Far out, Aqua." Paladin spoke in rapid succession, getting up and walking back down the passageway he came before she could inquire further about the giant brain-eating parasite currently wrapped around his head. Because, as far as she was concerned, that was the _only _reasonable explanation for what just happened.

* * *

"Lea, you don't have to do this," Isa said to his friend as they stood by the Gummi Ship being prepared for launch, with Roxas, Xion, Namine, and Riku nearby. "Just because we _know _crazy people doesn't mean we have to _be _crazy people."

"Hey, I'm the funny one. You're the grumpy smart mouth one, remember?" Axel snarked. "Besides, I can't pass up the chance to be a hero – and could you imagine what those Earth girls must be like? Hell-o."

"Pervert," Isa said with a small smirk.

"Seconded," shouted Kairi as she settled into her reclining chair in the ship's rear. She had been eager to fly but it was universally agreed that the recuperating girl with two fresh stab wounds probably _shouldn't _be flying the fancy space ship. Sora, always the gentleman, had elected to both come on the mission _and _join her aboard the ship – despite her insistence that she didn't need a nurse.

Lea shrugged them off. "Ah, more for me. Let's get a move on, go be heroes."

"In a minute," Paladin shouted, carrying a moderate sized wooden box in his arms. He had shaven his beard down to a thick moustache and goatee, and his hair had been clipped down to a short length.

"What do you have there, Paladin?" Riku, who was leaning against the Gummi Ship, asked innocently.

"Something special and full of wonder," Paladin said sweetly. "Now hush. You'll see once everyone's here."

Finally the blue-haired beauty that was Master Aqua, accompanied by Ventus and Terra in the midst of saying their farewells, came striding into the launch chamber from which the Ship was due to depart. She had probably been arranging plans with Mickey in her absence, Paladin noted. Aqua had her head turned toward her friends, only looking at Paladin at the last second.

"What... the..." Aqua muttered.

"Excellent, all of us are here," Paladin addressed the assembled masters. "Now... allow me to prepare myself."

He then promptly dropped the box on the ground, wiped his feet on the cobblestone walkway, and stepped onto the box while straightening the tie of the business suit he'd decided to wear (_Now, when combat's almost guaranteed, he chooses to change out of his jumpsuit? _Aqua thought to herself). From a breast pocket Paladin pulled a series of cue cards and began his eloquently written – and not at all pre-prepared speech.

"Ladies, gentlemen, hermaphrodites and squid monsters, I am here to wish you the very best for the coming mission. I pains me to think you and I may be casualties in the great conflict that is life, but, well, shit happens. I believe that when our forefathers said that the universe is our oyster, they intended for us to outlive them significantly so as to properly enjoy that. Obviously they didn't know about lung cancer rates skyrocketing." He glanced around to gauge a reaction, but upon seeing the blank expressions coughed and mumbled, "Tough crowd."

"Regardless, we are heroes in the making and whether we defend the homeland or go out into glorious battle we _will _define the years to come. We will vanquish our foes. We will avenge the fallen. We will wipe the Communist threat from the face of the – oh, crap, hold on." Paladin removed the cue cards and began to write replacement lines with a pen from his handy-dandy breast pouch.

"Okay – blah, blah, blah, foes. Blah, blah, blah, fallen," he said going through the motions. "We will make Thanatos _wish _he didn't fuck with this or any universe, and we will show that we can hold the line just as effectively as any before us. There will be holes left in reality by the conflict, certainly, but if and when we survive this we will fill them with our _experience _and our _passion _and our sizable_ throbbing_ – um... power?" This sounded a lot better when it was about beating the crap out of Stalin.

Paladin scratched his head, trying to find better words than those on the cue cards. "Uh... the heart of the Keyblade is the soul of the heart, that longs for the... uh, heart of the person. And the biggest heart of all is the one that we can fill together... with, um, something hearty and touchy feely. So... yeah, peace out, people, and see you all on the other side."

Without daring to look at anyone, he stepped down from the box, tucked away his cue cards, and promptly walked onboard the ship. As he crossed through the hatch, he noted quickly, "Aqua flies. I call shotgun."

* * *

Aqua pulled back the steering wheel as the ship crossed through an asteroid field. Normally she'd be attentive and focused on driving, but her mind was overwhelmed by her need to analyze and interpret her experiences. Sora and Kairi were in the far back, Riku and Lea were lounging in the secondary flight seats, and Paladin... he was up in the co-pilot chair next to her, fiddling with his fingers.

She stared at him as he literally twiddled his thumbs, glancing up occasionally to look out the viewport.

"I know that look," she heard him speak.

Aqua sighed. "You can't blame me – or anyone, really. I mean, what the heck was _that?_"

"That, my lovely blue-haired friend, was genius writing incarnate," bragged Paladin, his head now upright, "mixed with more than a little weariness. I'm fine, really."

"Sure, you are," Aqua said with a worried smile. "Is it the darkness?"

He saw him turn away to stare out at the cosmos, entranced by a distant explosion of light in the distance. "I'm fine. I'm just... a little tired, that's all."

She turned the wheel slightly to the right to avoid hitting a smaller world, still keeping Paladin in her peripheral vision. She noticed he was again concerned with his fingers, rubbing his hands all over like he was washing them.

"Tell me again about Earth," Aqua asked. "Tell me what you remember."

"What I remember. Huh. I remember the beaches being kind of coarse, but that's expected. There's sand everywhere. I remember steep mountains where you could freeze solid, vast forests dripping with rainwater, oceans that smelled of salt and felt liberating to the touch." Paladin paused, closing his eyes. "Mmm. Home."

"It sounds wonderful," said Aqua. "Please, tell me more, come on."

Paladin opened his eyes and gave her an incredulous look. "Really? You're quite the curious one, aren't you?"

"You're just figuring this out now? After we spent 500 days getting to know each other?"

"Well... I knew you liked to intuit things. A lot," said Paladin. "But I thought you had more restraint, _Master _Aqua."

Aqua chuckled, but shook her head. "First, respect the title, _Paladin. _Second, do you not recall that I've spent _years _sitting on a dark, gloomy excuse for a beach. I still don't know what's fashionable, let alone anything significantly useful. Now spill – what's waiting for us on Earth? Don't hold back. Be descriptive."

Paladin sighed at this proposition and shrugged. "Okay, you asked for it. But I warn you – talking to the guy with billions of years of experience is probably unwise. Kinda boring, you hear me?"

"Come on, how tedious could it be?"

* * *

Not an hour later, when the ship settled with a bump near Yen Sid's Tower and everyone in the passenger area was awoken, Aqua had begun to realize how thorough _billions of years _could be when told by – for lack of a better term – a crazy person.

"...So once the dinosaurs began to die out, I went about constructing a crude shelter and practised filtering my air for the next few thousand years. I figured once the dust settled, I could begin setup for some semblance of civilization. I mean, it wasn't the last Ice Age yet so I still had plenty of time before spears and torches came into play, but still I had my instructions..." Paladin continued on and on about achieving dominance over the forces of nature, but Aqua was far more intrigued by the fluctuating translucent disturbance on the world's edge.

"Is that portal safe?" Aqua asked, interrupting Paladin's spiel.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it's perfectly fine," Paladin reassured her, "just so long as we stay in single file and don't sneeze."

"Oh, alright, those seem like reasonable condit- wait, what was that about sneezing?"

"Uh," said Paladin, "nothing. Just don't sneeze, or cough, or shake, or laugh, or cry, or vomit, or express any valid human emotion at all. At any point."

Aqua gave him a concerned look. "Seriously?"

"No, I was just yanking your chain. Don't worry so much, flower child," said Paladin, "all's well in the house of heroes."

Lea, who was now awake, could only respond with an incredulous "What!?"

Aqua shook her head and moved to open the hatchway leading out of the ship. Riku had his hands laid back behind his neck and was yawning after having taking a nap. Sora and Kairi had their own ritual for naptime which Aqua noticed as she passed them. It involved the two of them switching spooning positions. Evidently, it was Kairi's turn to be the outer spoon.

Dust still clouded the air as the group set ground for the first time since yesterday. Bricks and stones lay strewn across the grass, as a haze lightly clouded the sun above. It left everyone feeling uneasy, off-balance, as though something had ripped a part of their very soul from them. It was unpleasant and everyone had something to say.

"It feels wrong, guys." Sora said, walking off the ramp onto the grass.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Riku responded. "To think, yesterday we were at peace, with not a worry in the world. Nothing to do, nothing to fear."

"And now we're hunting after a cyborg who's gone to a world we know nothing about," said Kairi. "Kinda makes you think."

"Makes you think we're all really bummed out, yeah," spoke Lea. "Let's not get _too _down on ourselves. I'm sure everything's gonna be perfectly fine."

Aqua silently moved towards the distortion, placing her hand through it. It disappeared in mid air but reappeared attached to her arm when she pulled back. It had felt warm to the touch, like a sunny day, and pulling back her hand had left her with a chill.

"I'll go first," announced Paladin, "and make sure everything's good on that end."

She nodded as her bearded friend strolled towards the portal with his hands in his pockets. He seemed to not realize the gravity on the situation and didn't really care that he could be throwing himself into mortal danger. He _whistled_ as he strode through the distortion and disappeared.

30 seconds passed, then a minute, then two minutes. Finally after five minutes, Lea had had enough. "I just want to have a little fun and get some payback. Is that too much to ask?" he grumbled as he practically leaped in the portal.

"Wait! Don't!" Sora shouted as he chased Lea through the portal. Aqua tried to grab him, but he vanished before she could grip his arm.

"SORA!" Kairi shouted. She also attempted to run for the portal, but by virtue of her having to hobble Aqua was able to stand in her way. "C'mon, Aqua, I'm not letting him go off on his own."

"Kairi, you're limping and he's gone. We'll do what Paladin said, okay? Single-file. Riku, behind Kairi," Aqua ordered, standing in front of the redhead. She wanted Sora to be safe just as badly (well, not in the same way), but she had a responsibility to the other masters. Riku filed in just behind Kairi, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Ready, Aqua," he spoke with confidence.

"Alright," said Aqua, "let's move." And the three marched through the distortion one-by-one, vanishing into the ether.

* * *

Paladin was not a stupid man. He'd watched empires fall and armies disintegrate often enough to know how to deal with it. Sometimes it was a matter of running faster than the slowest man, other times it required an epic last stand to turn the tide. Despite his inability to figure out chess he could easily claim to be one of the best living strategists on Earth – not _the _best, but among them.

So he was racking his brain, trying to figure out how he'd ended up facing down half-a-dozen still-active turbolasers firing rapidly the _second _he'd walked out the portal.

The distortion came out in the right place – the ruined remains of a starship's control room, far from any base of operations _he _could rely on. The jet black panels were jutting out of every wall, with wiring strewn every which way and sparks occasionally flying. The giant turrets rising out the floor, however, were not as expected and put him in a bit of a mood.

"I thought you said we'd be _having _a blast," spoke Lea as he settled behind the same computer console as Paladin for cover, "not that we'd _be _blasted."

"Forgive me. I'll just will these death machines to shut off and we'll just go on our merry way. Oh, and then we'll ride on a magic carpet and sing Kumbaya. How's that sound, you fire-headed loud-mouthed prick?"

"First off," Lea shouted over the laser fire as Sora fell from the portal behind a bent girder, "I've done my fair share of riding on a magic carpet, and let me tell you it's a lot more fun clinging for your life on one of those than getting shot at by _these_. Second, I might be loud-mouthed, but you'll always be the Weird Nutty Speech Guy."

"At least I don't look like my hair was screwed by Satan and given the chair," Paladin retorted.

"Who the hell is Satan and do you still have his number?" Lea asked. "'Cause when we're done here, you're gonna _wish _you had my awesome hair. Oh, wait, I forgot you like the shaggy dog look, my apologies."

Paladin scoffed, seeing Aqua and Riku fall behind some debris. "Shaggy dog? More like worn-in gentleman. I'd like to see you try my style. You'd probably come off as a pitiful hobo. Got some change, got some change... that's what you'll sound like as a hobo."

Lea gave him a thumbs up and a cheeky smile, as Kairi appeared and leaped behind another console.  
"Excellent comeback. Really well thought out. I'm glad to see such wit and intelligence in an ally."

"Same to you. Ready in three, Fire Nymph?"

"Ready now, Clown Boy."

"Fuck you."

"Thank you."

"CHARGE!" Paladin shouted at the top of his lungs, as he and Lea both leapt over the console and spun around to kick a pair of turrets. The turrets bent on an angle and snapped, sparking as they fell, allowing Paladin to run ahead for the other end of the room. He spotted Lea summoning a fire-themed Keyblade and slicing through another turret, but he paid him no mind as he spotted his target through the laser fire – his twin blades, stuck in the floor tiles, crossed in an X.

Right where he left them.

A bolt of energy shot past his face, forcing him to dodge quickly. Unfortunately, that left him unprepared for a volley of laser blasts that approached faster than he could dodge. He braced for impact – and heard the distinctive _swish _of a Keyblade. His eyes opened to the sight of Sora deflecting energy bolts with the Kingdom Key as Kairi stabbed at the turret from behind. After a few stabs in its dome, the _whirr _of its cells firing energy came to a halt and it ceased firing.

He charged for the blades, gripping and pulling them loose from the floor in seconds. The touch of the handle, wrapped in distinctive blue cloth, filled him with memories – slicing through hapless foes, leading the charge for Charlemagne's army, raising them in the glory of victory, the beautiful _ping_ that came when you struck another blade. It gave him warmth, the kind of warmth one gets from being a true, worthy hero. A rising sense of status and authority that almost gave him goosebumps. Almost.

Seeing Aqua blasting one turret with her namesake and Riku crushing another while redirecting its energy bolts drew him back. He eyed the last turret, to his right, and charged at it while zig-zagging across the deck. He felt the heat of its bolts surge past as he leapt onto the turret's dome, stabbing his blades as he fell. He pulled the blades downward and pulled loose, spinning to the deck's centre to avoid the final volley.

With a shudder, the turret sparked and collapsed into slices. Its parts fell as though they had been sliced with a bread knife, collapsing on one another. He heard a crunching sound and some sparking behind him, sounds that satisfied him.

But he also felt dizzy, perhaps the effect of spinning so aggressively. He coughed a little, and felt a burning metallic taste come up. Ick... He wiped his mouth with his hand, not wanting to dirty his suit. It was still classy, still relevant, still worthy of the maintenance.

Lea, panting, came up from behind him. "Take it easy... friend," he spoke with each breath, "we got 'em. We got... them... good."

"We're not done yet," Paladin announced, edging towards a smashed viewport. "We've still got a ways to go."

The other masters, tired but satisfied, came to look out beyond the shattered glass. The skyline was dark with a faint red glow, illuminating a thick jungle in the distance. Threads of light shone through vine and bush, casting a light shadow across the curved form of the ship below their feet. Each of them glanced down and took in the massive curve of this structure, this enormous saucer embedded in the very earth.

"How do we get down there?" Lea asked.

"Carefully," said Paladin.

* * *

Carefully, Sora noted, meant slowly rappelling down the side of the ship while tied into re-appropriated power cables, moving in a chain to ensure everyone travelled at a consistent speed. Lea went down first, followed by Riku, then Sora, Kairi, Aqua, and finally Paladin. Sora being between Kairi and Riku was an order Paladin claimed would make sense if they fell.

_If we fall_, Sora thought, _the order won't matter much_.

"Gently, people, gently," Paladin spoke from the top of the chain, waving whenever they needed to move. The group slid slowly and steadily down the sloping panels, edging closer and closer to the downward curve, where the plan was to gauge the height of the drop and set up another chain of cables accordingly. They only really had enough cable for this section, after all.

Sora took care to step around any jagged metal shards or burnt holes in the hull, of which there were many strewn about. He could see where the ship had suffered critical damage – along the side, stretching well beyond the downward curve – that indicated it was brought down _internally_. The metal jutted outward, the burn marks spread outward, various panels were barely holding against the hull. Whatever had brought this thing down had done so from the inside.

It frightened him that he could analyze that. It truly _scared _him that in two years he'd gone from being an innocent kid to a master strategist and seasoned warrior, with countless acts of destruction and violence in his wake. He'd never wish that kind of regret on anyone.

His back bumped against Riku, who had stopped for some reason. Kairi, in turn, came to a halt because Sora stopped, and Paladin halted his movement.

Sora turned around and saw that Riku and Aqua had both turned their heads toward the rising sun, entranced by something in the distance. Now that he thought about it, there was a distinct whirring sound growing in volume, like something endlessly rotating. He turned and saw the shadow of something bird-like crossing the skyline, hovering increasingly close to the wreckage.

"What's the hold-up, kiddos? We're on a tight-" Then Paladin noticed the whirring, and turned his head toward the shadow. Sora looked at him and saw an expression of, what? Caution, curiosity, paranoia? No, fear. Restrained by a stoic demeanour, but it was still fear.

"Paladin," Aqua spoke quietly, "who knows we're here?"

Slowly, eyes still fixated on the shadow's approach, Paladin responded, "I couldn't honestly tell you." Then he turned to Aqua. "But I don't want to be here to find out. Keep moving."

She nodded and continued to slide for the edge. Everyone followed suit.

But not a single eye shifted from the shadow, which was now clearly visible. It was an aircraft the likes of which Sora had never seen – a curved metal structure with two wings, at the centre of each a spinning set of blades. He felt the air moving faster as it approached, the whirring sound now louder than ever.

He had not, however, paid much mind to a loose panel under his feet.

Sora lost his grip on the cable as he fell on his belly, sliding across the hull with reckless abandon. He had also managed to knock down Riku and Lea, who were now presently falling faster than him.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" the three screamed as they approached the edge.

He felt the cable lurch with the weight of the other three – Kairi, Aqua, Paladin – as he watched Riku and Lea slide over the edge. He couldn't see them anymore but he felt their weight. Scrambling to grip a handhold of some sort, Sora felt his Keyblade materialize in his hand.

_No, this isn't the time. Wait..._

With a small cry of "Hah!", Sora stabbed the Keyblade as hard as he could into the cracks between some loose panels. It stuck, causing him to lurch as his fallen friends settled. He gripped the blade with all his might turning his head downwards. "Riku, Lea, you guys alright?"

Riku cried out, "Yeah, Sora, we're fine."

"Speak for yourself," he heard Lea say. "I'm the one hanging upside-down staring straight at the jungle floor. Looks like a thirty-foot drop, just for the record."

He nodded, knowing full well they couldn't see him, and turned his attention back to the others. "How about everyone else? Kairi, are you okay?"

"I'm just fine," Kairi said, giving him a smile, "just... tell me when you're gonna do that next time."

"Kids," Paladin started, but was interrupted by the whirring sound becoming deafening as the vehicle circled directly behind him.

"ATTENTION! YOU ARE TRESPASSING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY! STAND DOWN AND PREPARE FOR TERMINATION!"

Paladin did a double take. "Wait, what."

"REPEAT, YOU ARE TRESPASSING AND WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE TERMINATION!"

Sora looked over his shoulder. Through the viewport of the vehicle he could see a helmeted figure leaning over some kind of console.

"Paladin," Sora asked aloud, "is he talking to us?"

"And what, may I ask, does he mean by -"_RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!_

"Everybody MOVE!" Paladin shouted.

Sora dodged to the left as the surge of metal pellets shot past him, impacting against the hull. He saw the cable taking the brunt of the fire, getting torn up, then finally- _SNAP!_

"SORA!" he heard Riku shout as the weight lessened on his body. He wanted to reach out his arm and grab the sliding length of cable, but the remaining cable tugged in another direction, pulling him from the edge. Sora gripped and pulled the Keyblade loose, grabbing onto the cable with the other hand and following where it lead. As it turned out, Paladin was being proactive about the new threat.

"Dodge and weave, kids, dodge and weave," Paladin shouted, deflecting some of the pellets with one of his swords. He swung the blade like a professional, not letting the fact that he was doing so one-handed with the other hand gripping his lifeline get in the way of the art form. It was clean and fast, just one swift volley after another, metal deflecting metal.

Aqua and Kairi were also deflecting fire as Paladin threw all his weight into flinging their cable back and forth, which Sora assisted with by following Paladin's movements. The vehicle brought around another round of fire, which Sora sliced with his Keyblade quite easily.

He swung and swung, slashed and slashed, pushed and pulled against the cable, trying to see if the vehicle would show its weakness. It too weaved, but only slightly and only to hit the group at different angles.

Which meant a single strike could be all it took to turn the tides.

"Paladin," Sora shouted, "I'm gonna cut loose."

"WHAT!?" Paladin shouted back.

"Just trust me. Keep drawing its fire."

He readied his Keyblade in the real world, preparing it to slice through the cable. He saw Aqua and Kairi responding to his request with a few blasts of fire and ice sent at the vehicle, which caused it to begin tipping but kept it in roughly the same location. But inside, he paid no mind to anything but his own struggles.

_I need to call upon those powers which I thought gone. The Final Form, my ability to float... Keyblade, give me strength._

He felt a surge of pure light shoot through his body, and could imagine his clothes had shifted to a white colour with black decals. The warmth in his heart and the feeling that his friends were with him, the sheer energy those provided flowed through his body, fuelled his will, gave form to his power. His left hand grasped around a second Keyblade – this one had a jagged handle, so it must be Oblivion. His regular Keyblade shifted in his hand to take a more smooth form, appearing as the white Oathkeeper blade with a curved tip attached to a coloured star.

In one smooth motion, he sliced the cable tied to his waist and pushed free from the hull, shooting forward. The vehicle was directly in his vision, its twin cannons slowly swivelling to catch up with him. But he was gliding through the air faster than they could move, his blades outstretched and ready to slice...

Sora swept the blades through the cannons, slicing them in two, and stabbed them into the undercarriage of the vehicle. He glided across its underbelly, carving wide tears through the thick metal, willing electricity to shoot out of the blades.

He heard glass shatter and a pair of shouts. The rear of the vehicle came loose as he slid out from underneath and floated behind it, allowing black smoke to plume out. He landed on the makeshift platform, which he now saw was the hatch, and charged into the fold. Two soldiers dressed in armour turned to him, armed with rifles, but he simply smacked one with Oblivion and blasted the other with a fire spell.

A door was ajar, leading to a cockpit with a busted viewport. He stepped in, only to duck as one of the pilots stabbed at him with a knife while the other tried to regain control of the spinning vehicle. "I'm sorry for this," Sora spoke as he hit his attacker in the stomach with Oathkeeper, watching him fall in pain. Then, he pointed his blades at the other pilot. "Bring this down and help my friends."

"Uh, sure," the pilot said nervously, "whatever you say."

Within seconds, the smoke had cleared as Paladin and the other gathered aboard the commandeered vehicle. Kairi simply sat down in relief while Aqua settled into the pilot's chair. "Looks a little like the gummi ship," she commented as she began to fiddle with the controls.

"Easy does it," Paladin spoke as he looked down the four captives with Sora. "So kid, what do we do with this quartet?"

"I think we should let them go," said Sora.

Paladin shrugged, then turned to the conscious pilot. "Tell me, what brought you here? Why should I consider my young friend's request?"

The pilot, looking uncomfortable, tried to speak with confidence but ended up stammering. "I'm just an en-en-entry level recruit, sir. I- I don't even carry a weapon. I was just told someone was trespassing and we needed to intervene. I didn't know Carl would open fire."

"Carl?" Paladin asked. "Your fellow pilot? His name's Carl?"

"Yes, yes sir, Carl. He was in charge, he took our orders to mean terminate. I just – I didn't want any trouble."

"Well, you let a colleague opened fire on people you don't know _and _you didn't intervene. I'd say you got trouble now. And let me tell you, I don't quite appreciate-" Paladin stopped, his ears peaked by something. "Aqua, lift off now!"

An explosion smashed nearby, rocking the ship. Sora gripped a handhold as tightly as he could. Kairi grabbed onto her seat.

"Damnit. You son of a bitch," Paladin swore, pulling free a pistol from the side of his jacket and firing four times. Once for each prisoner. The conscious pilot collapsed, splattering on the torn hull.

Kairi covered her mouth, eyes widened in horror. Aqua turned back and shouted, "Paladin!" Sora could only watch as Paladin, a cold look on his face, turned to Aqua. "I said lift off!"

"I'm going down for Riku and Lea..." The hull was rocked with another explosion, this one shaking even Paladin.

"No time. Lift. Off. Now," Paladin said.

Aqua saw the look on his face, and Sora recognized the look she gave in return. The last time she had looked like this, she had been told to let the others take lead in the battle against Xehanort. A determination brewed underneath the surface, but it was tempered by resignation to the reality of the situation. That time it was her not being in the physical state to fight that madman. Here it was something else, some bond between the two that Sora couldn't quite comprehend.

Hatred? Rivalry? Love?

But in an instant, Aqua nodded. She pulled the control stick and activated the flight mechanism, giving Sora a sense of floating on air. He watched Paladin sit down, holding the pistol in his hands, before he himself sat down and prepared for the long ride ahead.

* * *

How long had it been since the death camps? How long had it been since he last killed, for that matter? Paladin understood a number of things about himself, but he couldn't quite grasp what came over him. What had possessed him to take that measure?

Christ, he was tired. He just wanted to lie down for a bit and think things through.

The sun was fully risen for quite some time before Paladin got up to check on Aqua. Kairi had fallen asleep by the hatch, which he'd thought to close to avoid the Kazakhstan incident. Sora was staring into space on the other side of the dropship, his eyes almost glazed over. He wished the kid hadn't seen that. He wished no kid would ever have to see that.

Hell, he never wanted any violence or suffering. He just wanted to be a hero.

Aqua tinkered with the holographic map, checking the geographic details with what she could see from the cracked viewport. At the moment, however, she seemed fixated on a particular detail.

"Paladin," she asked, "what's Shanghai?"

"Shanghai?" Paladin repeated. "That's a major city in the country of China, notable for its prominent ties to global trade. Why do you ask?"

"The map says we're approaching it. We should be passing over a hill in a few seconds, so we'll get a glimpse of it," she reported. "So what's it like?"

"Oh, it's got a large cityscape, lots of skyscrapers. I remember them saying that in 2020, they hope to start constructing a second level to the city."

"A second level?" Aqua pondered.

"Yeah, an actual artificial layer built on top of the existing architecture. I've... seen it done elsewhere."

"Wait," Aqua noted, "you said they planned on _starting _construction in 2020."

"Yes, I remember that quite well. It seems like a pipe dream."

Aqua turned to him, giving him a confused look. "What year do you think it is?"

This, in turn, confused Paladin. "Um, 2015, as it's always... been?"

"I think you should take a look at the console," she responded.

Paladin glanced at the console. A lot of fancy technology, some of which resembled the time he left, some more advanced than his comfort level could handle, but – there, smack dab in the middle, was the digital time and date display. It read: _12:01 on 15 July 2022._

"Wait," he muttered, "that can't be right."

"Paladin..."

"That means I was in the Realm of Darkness for seven years."

"Paladin..."

"What?" He glanced up to see Aqua pointing out a shape in the distance. Over the hill, gleaming with the light of day along the edge of the Yangtze, stood a massive three-level range of structures he could not have conceived of in his wildest dreams. The bustle of life and machinery was still there, but the place they called home was expanded, built up by the times, made a symbol of his worst fears.

_Welcome home. Wish it still felt like it._


End file.
